On Tue, 17 Jan 2017 00:48:18 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

In article ,
says...

Consider the cable sizes. For a given power, the higher voltage is
smaller copper and thus lower weight.

If you already have 350v on board where's the
benefit for 48?

As opposed to 12? None. As opposed to 350V, only? A lot!

And for a non-hybrid what percentage of the
weight of the vehicle is electrical wiring? And
of that weight, how much is copper conductors
and how much is connectors, insulation, mounting
brackets, and whatnot?

It's quite a lot of weight and all (expensive) copper.

And even the people trying to sell 48v don't
claim that it will do away with 12v--48v is
going to be an _additional_ electrical system.

I never heard 48V being proposed for hybrids but I have for IC cars.
Of course there won't be all three. I highly doubt that 48V will ever
be common.